BOSTON (CBS) – The New England Patriots will need all hands on deck in their secondary come Sunday evening when they host Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

The good news is that on Wednesday, three of the injured members of that secondary hit the practice field.

Corners Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard and safety Steve Gregory all practiced in limited roles on Wednesday. Talib missed the end of Monday night’s loss to the Panthers after his hip injury flared up, but sounded confident in the Patriots locker room, saying he was “day-to-day.”

“It’s all right. It tightened up on me at the end of the game but it’s fine,” he said of the hip. “I woke up feeling good.”

Dennard and Gregory both missed Monday night’s game, and a report on Tuesday said Dennard could be out for an extended period of time. The second-year corner declined to comment on Wednesday.